Musetti

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Summary of Underlying Facts In the interests of brevity and simplicity, we provide an overview of the facts here, and add additional details as necessary in our discussion. Musetti and Buckley knew each other since childhood. They maintained a friendship over the years. As an adult, Musetti eventually formed his own construction company. Buckley was a licensed real estate broker and founded a mortgage company, which he sold in 1999. Around 2000, Musetti sought to purchase property in Riverside County, but discovered the property he was interested in had an issue with unpaid property taxes. He

2 spoke to Buckley about it, and they learned that because there had been a change in the law, there was an opportunity to earn money by purchasing land at tax auctions. They orally agreed to purchase properties at tax auctions, whereby Musetti would locate the properties and Buckley would pay for them. Buckley’s outlay plus 5 percent would be returned to him, after which any further profits would be split equally. This was later referred to as “the tax property partnership.” This endeavor proceeded from 2001 to 2003, with the tax property partnership purchasing…